Electric generative boiler



Aug- 7, 1934. o. M. @Ross I 1,968,940

ELECTRIC GENERATIVE BOILER Y y f ATTORNEYS Aug- 7, 1934. o, M. GROSS,v 1,968,940

f ELECTRIC GENERATIVE BOILER Filed March 25, 1955 2 sheets-sheet V.2

n mllml FIG.11.

M LMA INVENTOR BY @W ATTORNEY5 Patented Aug. 7, 1934 y istanti PENT Fris y VELECflliC GENERATVE BOILER Gswald Maximillian Application March 25,

i2 Claims.

This invention relates to an electrically heated boiler in which the power loss incidental to heat leakage is compensated by the provision of careful and scientiiic measures for heat conservation.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a boiler which derives its main steam generating heat electrically.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for bringing waste heat from available 1Q sources into heat exchanging relation to the boiler.

Still another object of the invention is to provide vacuum heat insulating jackets for the boiler and working engine to minimize atmospheric heat leakage.

A further object of the .invention is to provide a boiler or steam generator in which massive metal parts function as heat reservoirs for transmitting heat to relatively thin bodies of the boiler fluid whereby quick generation of steam at a Vconstant g temperature and at a substantially constant rate of heat interchange is maintained.

Another object of the invention is to provide a boiler in which the steam is successively generated and super-heated in several stages.

Still another object of the invention resides in the simplicity of the construction of the boiler and the accessibility of its several parts.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of a preferred and practicalV 30, embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawings which accompany and form a part of the following specification and throughout the several figures of which the same characters of reference have been employed to designate identical parts:

Figure l is a vertical elevation of the boiler embodying the features lof the present invention; f

Figure 2 is a vertical diametric section through the boiler;

Figure 3 is aL horizontal section taken along the line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale of the final super-heater;

Figure 5 is a top view of the super-'heater shown in Figurefi; i

Figure 6 is a section taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a. plan view of one of the electric heating elements; i

Figure 8 is a section taken along the oblique line 8-8 of Figure 4; y

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the heat distributing coil in the lower super-heating chamber; VFigure l0 is a plan view of one of the battles in the super-heating chamber;

Gross, Detroit, Mich. 1933, serial No. 662,803

(o1. 21a-ss) Figure 1l is a plan View of the wire heat distributor above the heater in the lowerrnost sectlon of the boiler; Y

Figure l2 is a perspective View of the detachable exhaust pipe; and

Figure 13 is an oblique section taken along the linel 13--13 of Figure 2.

Referring now in detail to the several gures, the numeral 39, Figure 3 represents a boiler which is structurally dilierentiated into several sections, each or" which is provided with an electric heater,l the said heaters beginning with the lowermos't being designated by the reference characters 28A,V 29 and 30A. The electric energy for activating these heaters is provided by a suitable source of electric energy not shown.

Referring now in detail to Figure 3, it will be observed that the boiler is constituted by three sections, the lower'most section which is in general designated by the reference character 100, being the generator for producing wet steamfrom the water delivered by the pipe 15 and admitted by way of a valve 67. The middle section designated. by the reference character 200 Vis the primary super-heater, and the upper section designated by the reference 300 is the secondary or nal superheater.

In the interest of heat conservation, any available exhaust products containing waste heat are led by means of a vacuum insulated conduit 2 into. the lower end of a pipe coil 3 which underlies the boiler. This pipe coil is connected by way of bores in the lower head 4 of the bottom section l0() and into a helical conduit 97 which surrounds the section 100, the exhaust being discharged into atmosphere at the top of said section by way of a conduit 5. Exhaust steam from any available source is led by way of a vacuum insulated pipe 6 into the lower end of a helical coil 98 which surrounds the sections 200 and 300 of the boiler, the steam being led away from the top' of said coil through a conduit 9 to a condenser l0 shown in Figure 1, from which the condensed steam passes through a pipe ll back to the reservoir l2.

The lower section of the boiler `will now be described in detail. It comprises a massive metallic member 8 formed with numerous apertures extending verticallytherethrough, said apertures communicating at the top withintersecting cross channelsA 53 which are in valved communication with the water supply and also in communication with the primary super-heater chamber. The lower end of the massive member 8 lies in an oblique plane Vand is formed with a shallow chamber 50 into which the lower ends ofV the perpendicular bores debouch. The lower end of the massive member 8 is closed in huid-tight manner by a plate 49 and beneath the plate 49 of the lower head 4 which is secured to the member 8 by a series of bolts 96. A shallow chamber is formed in the upper sloping surface of the head 4 in alinement with the chamber 50, but on the opposite side oi the plate 49. The heater 28A is located in the lower chamber and in the upper chamber is placed a heat distributing wire coil 50. rIhe chamber 56 is in communication with a mud drum 74 by means of which the lower section of the boiler can be blown on, the sloping arrangement of the chamber 50 ensuring the gravital discharge of the sediment from the boiler toward said mud drum.

The boiler is supported in any suitable manner, preferably by a base flange 84 against the end of which the lower head 4 rests. A vacuum jacket 46 is supported beneath the boiler and through which the exhaust pipe 2 passes in fluid-tight manner. The electrical connection 28 to the heater 28A also passes through a bushing welded in fluid-tight manner to the walls of said vacuum jacket. rihere may be as many mud drums as desired, but Figure 14 shows that a plurality of mud drums is preferred which can be opened by suitable means such as the plugs 73.

The bolts which secure the head 4 to the massive member 8 pass through apertures in the inclined plate 49, which plate is also provided with a hole 5' coinciding with the bore which places the exhaust coil 3 into communication with the conduit 97.

Between the lower and the intermediate section of the boiler is an accessible space in which the valve 67 is located, the distributing fitting for the feed water to the lower section and for the passage of steam from the lower section to the primary super-heater. In this space may be also placed certain electrical connections such as an automatic switch or switches by means of which the operation of one or both of the superhcaters may be discontinued.

The intermediate section or primary superheater comprises a massive metallic member 200 having the lower head 55 secured thereto by means such as the` bolts56 and being supported upon brackets 54 fixed to the lowermost section. The lower portion of the massive portion is hollow dening a super-heating chamber 58. At the bottom of said chamber an inverted conical plate is clamped between the member 200 and the head 55, the latter element below said plate being formed with a depression constituting a chamber in which the heater 29 is located. The plate 64 forms an hermetic seal for said heater chamber. The plate 64 is formed with a bore in its center through which passes a short pipe communicating by way of the connections 65 and 68 and intermediate pipe with the lower steam chamber. It is by this means that the wet steam from the lower section of this boiler iinds its way to the super-heater.

Above the plate 64 is a plate 68 `having a frustoconical depression and being inverted in its relation to the plate 64 so as to dei-lne in connection with said chamber, a huddler chamber. Said chamber is lined with a wire heat distributing coil 95 and the plate 63 is formed with a plurality of small apertures 93 for the escape of the steam. The huddle chamber provides a region of concentrated heat into which all of the wet steam from the lower section of the boiler must pass and in which it is super-heated and partially dried and from which it escapes through the apertures 93. It then encounters a plurality of baffles 60 mounted on a rod 59 iixed in an aperture 94 at the apex or the plate 63, said baiiies being kept apart by spacers 6l which surround said rod and having staggered openings 62. The baies with the staggered perforations constitute a labyrinthine path for the super-heated steam in which it is thoroughly mixed and deprived oi any moisture which may have blown through from the wet steam chamber particularly when unusual demands are made on the boiler. The massive member 260 is provided with an intermediate partition separating the super-heating chamber 58 from the secondary super-heating chamber 79 except for a communicating conduit 82. The secondary superheating chamber has a massive cylindrical steam trap 81 snugly tted therein, dening beneath it and the transverse partition a shallow space containing the electric heater 30A. The steam trap is provided as shown in Figure 6 with a plurality of vertical bores 89 joined by inclined transverse bores 92, the lowermost of which bores communicates with the conduit 82, while all of said bores, excepting the row of outlets 88 are stoppered at their outer ends to prevent the escape of steam except by way of said outlets. The perpendicular bores 89 are connected by means of lateral bores 90 with a steam chest 91 with which the outlets 88 communicate. The massive member 81 is heated by the heater 80A to the desired high temperature and uniformly distributes the heat to the columns of dry steam passing through the various bores of said steam trap. The slope'of the bores 92 affords means for any sediment which may in time tend to deposit on the walls of said tubes, to gravit-ate to the low side where it may be eventually moved by withdrawing the lowermost of the plugs 87.

The member 200 is closed at its upper end by a head 78 preferably convex or frusto-conical as shown, so as to denne in the upper part of the secondary super-heating chamber 79 a dome or reservoir for the accumulation of the dry steam from which it is conducted by Way of the pipe 16 to suitable steam utilizing apparatus as hashereinbefore been related. The upper head 78 is tapped for a pipe to receive a safety valve 7.7 and also for a pressure gage 38.

A vacuum jacket 43 is positioned above the head 78 and in spaced relation, said vacuum jacket having tubes extending through the vacuous space and welded in fluid-tight manner to the opposite walls of said jacket, through which tubes the necessary conduits and electrical conboiler and a similar but shorter jacket is madey in two telescoping parts 47 `and 48,' the Iupper part of which is of small diameter and carries the upper portion of the lower section of the boiler, while the lower part normally encompasses the lower part of the lowermost section. The lower portion 47 of the vacuumv jacket may be slid upwardly along the surface of the upper part so as to give access to the head 4. The mud drums 74 extend-through an annular collar'in the portion 47 of the' lower vacuum jacket and Llf saidV mud'- drums 3 must Abe removed. before the lower portion .ofthe jacket-caribe slid upwardly as describedpfV .l Y 'For purposev of obtainingl easy; access .to the exhaust coil 3, it' i'smade :removable as .indicated: in ld'gurev 13, the upper end telescoping into thecentral bore in -thehead 4', while the lower end freely telescopes into* the-tting 99 which passes through the .lowervacuum jacket and communicates'. withsthe" exhaust products pipe 2. v' l f The broken lines in Figure 3 indicate the normal water level 52. vA Awater level gage 24 is located at a point outside the boiler corresponding witlrthe'normal waterlevel andbeingaccessible to the boiler space by means of test valves and71.

It' will be understood from vthe above description of the boiler that in addition-to the heat afforded by the several electric heaters, `the lower or wet steam section of the boiler is further heatedY by exhaust products passing successively through the lexhaust coil 3 and the conduit 97, and that the massive member 200 which surrounds both the primary and secondary super-heaters, lis heated by 'exhaust steam from an unshown source passing through the coil 98. The radiated heat from the entire boiler is conserved by the vacuum jackets which completely surround it.

The principle of thermal conservation is preferably carried to the extent that the cold makeup water admitted to the supply reservoir 12 from the mains by way of pipe 12 is sub-ordinated to the condensate from the returned vapor, so that the condensate is returned rst to the boiler, and the make-up water is admitted slowly to the body of condensate. With this end in view, the supply reservoir 12 is provided with an inner receptacle 112 with which the supply pipe 12 communicates and which retains a relatively small body of the cold make-up water. The receptacle 112 is provided with a jacket 113 forming an insulating space 114 in which a vacuum is suitably drawn and maintained. The rest of the volume of the reservoir 12 constitutes a chamber for the condensation water supplied through the pipe 1l and which is in communication with the pump by means of the pipe 13. The receptacle 112 is in communication with the body of condensate water by means of restricted tubes 115 which traverse the vacuous space surrounding the make-up water receptacle. It is obvious that the makeup water will be supplied only as required by the depletion of condensate water in the outer chamber of the reservoir.

It will be understood from the above description taken in connection with the drawings that the boiler embodying the principles of my invention avoids heat leakage into the atmosphere -which is the maximum cause of inefficiency in an ordinary steam generating plant, that it provides for the conservation of heat at all points both by the prevention of heat leakage into the atmosphere and by the regenerative relationship of the -waste exhaust products and exhaust steam to the .least waste of energy, and the enclosing of the engine in the vacuum casing contributes still further to the efficiency of the power plant.

It is to be understood that while I have disclosed what I believe to be an optimum selection land arrangement of units, it is to be understood that the invention is broad enough to cover the substitution of .i equivalent-.units of other types, asprovided bythe breadth of the accompanying Whatclaimisz' N ,f. l

1. Boiler comprising a steam generating section and super-heating section serially arranged', said steam generating section including a lmassive member for` storing heat and a heater for heating vsaid massivel member, said member being formed with `a pluralityl of passages for receiving the fluid to be `turned to steam; the lower: face of said massive member terminating in an oblique plane, a head detachably secured to said lower section having the, upperface inclined to corre-f spond to the Obliquity of' the lower face o said massive member,a heater for said massive member arranged ina recess in said head, a plate betweensaid head'and massive member sealinginfluid-tight manner the passages in said massive member, and being adapted to conduct heat to the fluid contained in: said massive member, avacuurn jacket surrounding said boiler, thelower portion ofsaid jacket surroundmg said head and appurtenant parts and telescoping with relation toA the portion of the vacuumjacket above it for giving vaccess to said head. y

y 2. Boiler comprising a 'Wetisteam generator and primary and secondary super-heaters arrangedin superposed relation "and'in serial com'- munication, electric heaters individual to said generator, bailles in said primary superheater constituting an extended heated surface for rapidly expanding and heating the steam in said primary super-heater, a massive metallic reservoir in said secondary super-heater having passages therethrough affording a restricted iiow with consequent densication of the steam through said secondary super-heater.

3. Boiler as claimed in claim 2, the outer walls of said steam generator and primary and secondary super-heaters being constituted by massive metallic heat reservoirs, and a space between said reservoirs providing for thermal expansion and contraction.

4. Boiler comprising a wet steam generator and primary and secondary super-heaters arranged in superposed relation and in serial communication, said generator including a massive metallic body having a plurality of bores forming steam generating passages, a detachable head at the lower end of said generator, means for admitting water to the upper part of said generator and a slidable insulation jacket surrounding said generator and slidable as a unit to a position giving access to said head, for disassembling purposes.

5. Boiler comprising a Wet steam generator, said generator including a massive metallic body having a plurality of bores forming steam generating passages, a detachable head at the lower end of said generator, means for admitting water to the upper part of said generator, telescoping insulation jacket surrounding said generator the lower jacket being slidable upon the upper jacket to give access to said head for disassembling.

6. Boiler comprising a wet steam generator including a massive metallic body having a plurality of bores forming steam generating passages, a detachable head at the lower end of said generator, the line of passage between said massive body and said head being in an inclined 145 plane, a plate between said head and body, and an electric heater in said head beneath said plate.

7 Boiler comprising a wet steam generator including a massive metallic body having a pluy rality of bores forming steam generating pas- 150 sages,` a detachable head at the lower end of said generator, the plane of passage between said head and body being inclined, a plate between said head and body, a recess in said head beneath said plate, and forming with the latter a chamber to receive an electric heater, a mud drum communicating with the lower part of said generator above said plate and having an inclination corresponding substantially to that of said plate, an electric heater positioned in a recess in said head below said plate,kmeans for admitting water to the top of said generator, the lower ends of said passages being in common communication with said mud drum.

8. Boiler as claimed in claim 7, including telescoping insulation jackets surrounding said generator the lower jacket being slidable upward upon the upper jacket to give access to said head for disassembling.

9. Boiler as claimed in claim 2, including coil conduits surrounding said generator, said. superheaters and in proximity to the bottom of said generator forconducting waste heat from other'.V

instrumentalities into heat exchanging relation to said boiler.

10. Boiler comprising a wet steam generator and primary and secondary super-heaters arranged in superposed relation and in serial communication, electric heaters individual to said generator and to each of said super-heaters, a massive member hollow at both ends, heads closing the ends of said massive member and forming with said hollow ends super-heating chambers, a passage through the intermediate part of saidmassive member aording communication between said super-.heating chambers, a system of bailies in said primary super-heating chamber for permitting the rise of steam and the return of aqueous condensate, and a massive member in said secondary super-heating chamber having labyrinthine passages communicating with a steam dome or header for receiving the dry steam.

11. Boiler as claimed in claim 10, including a vacuum jacket surrounding said super-heating chambers. Y

12. Boiler comprising wet steam generator and primary and secondary super-heaters arranged in superposed relation and in serial communication,.electric heaters individual to said generator and to each of said super-heaters, conduits surrounding said generator and said super-heaters for utilizing in heat exchanging relation the waste heat from extraneous sources, and vacuum insulation jackets surrounding said steam generating chamber and said super-heaters and the coils by which they are surrounded.

v OSWALD MAXIMILLIAN GROSS. 

